Spring Tornado
by BabyCharmander
Summary: King Dedede has stolen Dreamland's food! What to do? See the events of Spring Breeze unfold through the eyes of Cutter the Sir Kibble and Dagger the Blade Knight, two unfortunate helpers who always seem to run into trouble!
1. Prologue

Hiya folks! BabyCharmander here with yet another fanfic! Don't worry about my other fanfic, ALitD. It's finished, as is this one. I'll be posting this once a week every Friday, so don't freak out and beg me to post more chapters. It's all taken care of; don't worry. XD;

Disclaimer: Kirby, Sir Kibble, Blade Knight, and other related characters are copyright Nintendo/Hal. I do not own them. I do, however, own Cutter and Dagger, as well as any other original character within this fic, so please don't use them without my permission!

That's the last time I'm stating the disclaimer. Now, on with the fic, murhur! Oh, and when you review, be sure to give concrit if you find anything that needs concritting. ;;

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Dreamland looked absolutely beautiful. Green Greens looked especially dazzling with its flowering plants and trees showing off their colors, gurgling streams splashing around the shores, and newborn fauna scampering about on their tiny feet.

It was springtime. A time of beginnings, a time of growth, a time of renewal, a time of…

"BUHHHH!"

…a time of Bronto Burts being chased by Blade Knights?

A Bronto Burt buzzed frantically down the meadows as a large Blade Knight chased after it. The Blade was approximately one and a half feet tall, very large for a Dreamlander. He had extremely large eyes with tiny pupils; no helmet; large, dented shoulder guards; torn gloves and boots; a dirty blue shirt; untidy red hair; and a long, saliva-covered tongue that lolled out of his mouth and flopped behind him as he ran. Overall, this Blade Knight had a very comical appearance.

"BLUH!" the Blade Knight exclaimed, his voice low, slow, and generally stupid-sounding. He leapt into the air, trying to grab at the Bronto Burt with his paws.

The butterfly-like creature flew up higher, just out of his reach. He looked over his shoulder (or wing joint, rather) to see how far the Blade Knight was behind him. When he looked back, he realized that he was heading straight into a tree and quickly did a 90-degree turn upward.

The Blade Knight did the same, running up the tree trunk.

The Bronto Burt, frustrated that he still hadn't lost his antagonist, glanced around the tree as he flew to find a way to get away. He spotted a narrow gap between two sturdy tree branches that he could just get through. Locking his eyes onto that spot, the butterfly zoomed forward, flying through the two branches.

"Heywait!" the Blade called, diving through the gap. He came to an abrupt halt, however, when he found himself stuck between the two branches. "...buh?"

The Bronto Burt was relieved that he had finally gotten rid of his annoyance. He stuck his tongue out, making a "Pfffbttt!" sound, and buzzed off.

"WAIT!" the Blade yelled, squirming to get un-stuck from the two branches. The Bronto Burt did not turn around, however, and eventually passed from the knight's vision. The knight frantically looked around, trying to find someone to help him. Seeing that no one was around, he whimpered, and simply hung there between the two branches. "Buh…"

Meanwhile, not too far away, a Sir Kibble walked down the road, carrying a small bag of money. He had a slightly worried and confused look on his face as he walked down the path to his house. He looked like just about every other Kibble: Black skin, white eyes, red paws, and golden armor with a boomerang-blade attached to the top. The only two things that made him stand out from any of the others of his species were his red feet and short height, which was about nine inches including his armor, and seven inches without.

"It doesn't make sense! How can the grocery store be completely out of food? It's usually full to bursting every other time I go there…" the Kibble thought aloud. His stomach growled audibly. "It's past noon and I haven't had anything to eat yet… this is not good."

The round knight heaved a sigh as he continued his trek. He stopped by a tree to rest for a moment, and as he did, heard a faint sobbing coming from somewhere up in the tree branches. He looked up, eyes darting around the spring leaves and flowers and looking for the source of the sobbing. He eventually focused on the area that the crying was coming from, but still couldn't see who was there.

"….hello?" the Sir Kibble said a little unsurely.

The sobbing stopped, and after a few moments came a slow reply. "Buh?"

"What's wrong?" the round knight asked, still searching for who he was talking to.

"Istuck…" the voice returned.

The black puffball had to wonder what age the person he was talking to was at that point. Still, he continued the conversation. "Do you need help getting down?"

"Yah…" The tree branches above the Sir Kibble shook, indicating that the latter speaker had nodded his head.

"All right, help's on the way… I guess." The Kibble detached his boomerang-blade from his helmet, aimed it at the tree branches above his head, and threw it. "Hey wait… Er… whoops."

The round knight quickly darted out of the way of the falling tree branches, but was crushed by a falling Blade Knight.

"Buhh?" the Blade Knight questioned, looking around for the person that had saved him. "Whereyuu?" He heard a muffled voice from beneath him and blinked in confusion for a few moments before stepping off.

The Sir Kibble held his head in pain, wincing. "Well… er… that was a brilliant idea, wasn't it?"

"Yah," the Blade Knight said with a nod, his long tongue flopping about as he did so.

The Kibble stared, and couldn't help but chuckle. "No, that was a sarcastic comment." He picked up his blade and re-attached it to his helmet.

"Thankuu unstuckme," the Blade said happily, licking the Sir Kibble across the face with his overlarge tongue.

The Sir Kibble froze when he felt the long, slippery tongue slide across his face and shivered. "Please… don't do that…" He wiped the saliva off of his face and armor. This was certainly the strangest thank-you he had ever received. Once this was done, he examined the Blade Knight once more. "I haven't seen many Blade Knights outside of their villages. Are you working for King Dedede?"

The Blade Knight blinked, tilting his head to the side. "Whothat?"

"Uh, I'll take that as a no." The round knight was in utter disbelief. A Blade Knight that wasn't in one of the villages and wasn't working for Dedede? That was certainly a rarity! "So… uh, what's your name?'

A comical, stupid-looking grin spread across the Blade's face. "I Dagger!" he exclaimed.

"Well, er, hello Dagger. My name's Cutter. It's uh… nice to meet you?" Cutter scratched his head (or rather, the top of his helmet). It was extremely awkward talking to someone who could hardly speak English correctly. "Well, I'd better be going now. I have to get back home." With that, he started walking down the dirt path again.

Dagger apparently didn't get the idea. He followed Cutter down the path, his long tongue dragging in the dirt behind him. It didn't take long for the Kibble to notice that he was being followed.

Cutter turned around, frowning beneath his helmet. "Why're you following me?" he asked, slightly annoyed.

Dagger replied by licking the Sir Kibble across the face for the second time.

"HEY!" Cutter exclaimed, shoving Dagger's tongue away. "Don't do that!"

The Blade Knight seemed hurt. He hadn't meant to annoy Cutter; he just didn't know how to say "I like you!" No one seemed to understand that… He looked down at the ground, kicking his foot. "Isowwie," he said finally.

Cutter seemed a little ashamed himself. He didn't mean to make Dagger sad. "…It's all right."

Dagger smiled again, happy that he hadn't been yelled at again like the other times that he had tried to befriend someone.

"Well, I'll see you, I guess," Cutter said, waving a goodbye to Dagger. He started walking down the path again, not surprised to find the Blade Knight still following after him. He didn't stop, but continued walking, pretending not to notice. After a few minutes he finally reached his house- a dome-shaped structure with two circular windows, a small door, and what looked like an oversized boomerang-blade on the roof. The Kibble opened the door and started to walk in, but paused when he heard Dagger speak again.

"Wait!" Dagger called. Cutter turned to look at him, but the Blade Knight had no reply. He looked away nervously, not sure how to communicate to him what he needed.

It seemed as though Cutter read his thoughts. Either that or he was very good at guessing. "You don't have a place to stay, do you?"

Dagger shook his head sadly. "Nuuu…"

Cutter sighed. "That's what I thought." He thought about it for a few moments before nodding to the Blade Knight. "…you can stay with me for a while if you want."

He was then abruptly tackled into the house and licked across the face for the third time by Dagger. "Well, I guess I'd better get used to that…"


	2. Green Greens

Hiya folks! Time to update, murhur!

Though… only one review… and the reviewer was someone who read it before. Ox; Dang, mur.

Sailor Taichichi Vegeta: Thanks, mur. ; Maybe if you keep reviewing the fic'll get noticed a bit more?

Mur, I hope that the long-ness of these chapters aren't scaring folks away or anything. oO; Anyway… no need for a disclaimer, since I already said it in the Prologue. On with the fic!

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Dagger was sitting on the small couch in Cutter's living room as the Kibble typed some things into a laptop. The Blade Knight looked away upon hearing someone knocking at the door. "Whothat?"

"Oh, that's probably just the mail," Cutter explained, shutting the laptop. He hopped off of the couch and walked over to the door, opening it. A maroon-colored Birdon stood at the door, carrying a single letter in his beak. Cutter took this letter and handed the bird a few coins. The Birdon happily accepted this payment, squawked the Kibble a "thank-you!" and flew off.

Cutter watched the Birdon fly away before shutting the door and looking at the letter. However, he didn't have to look at the address to know who it was from when he spotted the familiar peace-sign seal. "Oh no…"

"Buh?" Dagger questioned, hopping up to look at the letter.

"It's a letter from my boss," the puffball said. "Usually when I get a letter from him it isn't for a good reason…" He nervously tore open the envelope and read the letter. It was written in slightly sloppy handwriting, which wasn't surprising seeing as it was coming from King Dedede.

"Dear servant:

My scouts have reported that you've been slacking off, and not pestering Kirby like you're supposed to. This is _not_ acceptable! If you continue to disobey my orders, then you're fired!

-King Dedede"

Cutter moaned, tossing the letter over his head and into the garbage. "Why did I ever apply for this job? It's suicide to annoy Kirby…"

"Kuh-bee?" Dagger tilted his head in confusion. "Whothat?"

Normally Cutter would have been surprised if someone didn't know who Kirby was, but then again, Dagger didn't even know who Dedede was. Instead of scolding the Blade Knight, he simply explained. "I've never seen him myself, but from what I heard, Kirby's a monster Dreamlander that devours anyone in his path… I'm not sure what he looks like, but I think he's something a giant monster with big red eyes, vicious fangs, and sharp claws." The Kibble shivered. "Few of Dedede's servants that confronted him made it back alive… So you can see why I'm not doing my job."

"Yah," Dagger answered with a nod. "Monst'rbad."

"The thing is, though, knowing Dedede, he'll probably do something worse than fire me… he might put me in the dungeon or something. I can't really decide what's a worse fate: rotting in a dungeon for the rest of your life or being viciously devoured by a monster."

Dagger nodded again, but paused. A loud growl echoed throughout the room, and the Blade Knight gave a nervous smile. "…Ihungry."

"Well, it's after lunchtime, so I suppose I could go make a few sandwiches…" Cutter walked over to the kitchen, but stopped upon remembering something. "Oh, that's right… I'm out of food." He sighed, grabbing a bag of money off of the table. "I checked the nearest grocery store, and they were completely out of food. Kinda weird… There's another grocery store nearby, I guess we could go check that one. C'mon." The Kibble walked back over to the door, motioning for Dagger to follow. With that, the two started the short walk.

The path to the grocery store went nearby a row of houses. Usually it was bustling with activity around there, but right now it was eerily silent. Dagger shivered, sensing something was wrong. "Buhh…" he whimpered.

"What's wrong, Dagger?" Cutter questioned, looking up at the Blade Knight. He glanced around the area, not seeing anything suspicious aside from the lack of activity. "There's nothing to be afra-"

The Kibble was suddenly cut off by a forceful vacuum of wind that was pulling him towards a nearby bush. Instantly he began to panic. "IT'S HIM! IT'S KIRBY!" Cutter cried, grabbing his paws at the ground as the vacuum continued to pull him. "HELP ME!"

"Ihelpyuu!" Dagger exclaimed, grabbing Cutter's red paw. He fought against the strange vacuum, casting an occasional nervous glance at the bush that the forceful wind was coming from.

"HELPMEHELPME!" Cutter yelled, kicking his feet. Dagger continued to pull his friend out of the vacuum of wind until-

_SLUURRRP!_

The vacuum stopped. Dagger glanced at Cutter, who was now dangling about a foot above the ground, his armor gone and face bright red.

"…he ate my ARMOR."

The Kibble quickly struggled free of Dagger's grip and hid behind the knight due to both embarrassment and fear, for the monster that had been trying to eat him was now emerging from the bush. The duo trembled in fear as they watched Kirby approach them…

Both of their jaws dropped.

Kirby looked completely different than Cutter had described, aside from being a ball. He was a round Dreamlander with pink skin; small, stubby paws; red feet; large, blue, happy eyes; red cheeks; and small smile on his face. He was also wearing a peculiar hat. It looked like a yellow baseball cap with eyes similar to his own, small wings, and a boomerang-blade attached to the top.

"S'cuse me," he said with a slightly kiddy voice. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just needed to borrow your ability for a while. I'll give it back when I'm done, all right?"

Cutter hesitated for a moment before responding. "Y-you're KIRBY?"

The puffball laughed. He was used to these kinds of reactions. "What did you expect, a great big monster with red eyes, vicious fangs, and sharp claws?"

"Er… Yes, actually."

"Meh. That's what everyone expects," Kirby replied, rolling his eyes. "But let me tell you, I'm no monster."

"B-b-but what about all of the king's soldiers that never returned? Didn't you-"

"No, I didn't kill them," Kirby stated, an angry look upon his pink face. "I did attack them, but only because they attacked me first. They ran away after that… Prob'ly too ashamed to go back to their king after being beaten by the likes of me." He laughed again.

"What about me?" Cutter yelled. "I didn't attack you!"

"Yah!" Dagger agreed.

"I _didn't_ attack you! I'm just borrowing your ability! I already told you I'd give it back."

"But I _really_ need my armor, you know…" Cutter backed behind Dagger further, and began to shove the Blade Knight forward. "Here, take Dagger's ability instead."

"HEY!" Dagger shouted. He might not have been very smart, but he knew what Cutter meant.

"Actually, that's not such a bad idea," Kirby mused. He took a breath and coughed out Cutter's armor, his hat disappearing off of his head. He then turned to Dagger and started to inhale. He aimed his inhaling at the Blade's shoulder guards, and finally was able to swallow them. There was a flash, and Kirby now wore a green elf-like hat with a yellow brim and puff at the tip, and held a semi-large sword. "I'm better at Sword ability than I am at Cutter ability anyway."

Cutter quickly slipped into his armor while Dagger was busy trying to figure out where his shoulder guards went and while Kirby was busy inspecting his new ability. "Thanks… Why do you need an ability anyway?"

"You know how all the grocery stores are out of food?" Kirby asked, adjusting his hat.

Cutter nodded. "Yeah… Kinda odd, don't you think?"

"Not really, 'cause I know what happened to it," Kirby stated, frowning.

"Wut?" Dagger asked, finally giving up the search for his armor. He walked back over to Cutter, and faced Kirby.

"King Dedede stole it."

The pink puffball wasn't surprised to hear gasps from the two knights.

"You see, King Dedede is a very greedy person. He ordered food so much that his kitchen ran out of food, and his chefs had nothing to cook with," Kirby explained. "He's too greedy to spend his money, so he ordered some of his servants to go and steal the food. Not only that, but he also ordered them to steal the Power Stars, which cause the food in Dream Land to grow. He gave those Power Stars to some of his allies, and they are still guarding them." Kirby adjusted his hat once more. "So that's why I need your ability. I need an ability to fight the king's allies and get the Power Stars and food back."

Kirby then walked up to Cutter and Dagger, smirking. "And that's why I need you two to help me."

"WHAT?" the Kibble exclaimed, jumping back. "I can't do that! The king would kill me if he found out that I was aiding you!"

"Who's gonna know? I told you that all the guards and soldiers that I defeat just run away and never show their face to the king again. And I really need your help with this…"

"'Kay," Dagger said, stepping forward.

Cutter watched his new friend join Kirby, and gave a defeated sigh. "Fine, I'm in too." He took a few small steps forward. "Just don't steal my armor again, all right?"

"All right," Kirby said with a nod, a smile spreading across his face. "Let's go, then! Off to Whispy Woods!"

"Whiwuuds?" Dagger questioned, tilting his head and looking at Cutter.

"It's a real nice place, Dagger. I've been there a few times. Shouldn't be too hard… I don't think."

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"WAAAAAAGH!"

The trio had just barely entered Whispy Woods when a flock of Tookeys and Chickies started to chase them. Cutter and Dagger ran for their lives while Kirby, still with his Sword ability, chased after the flock with his sword high in the air.

"Bad burds!" Dagger spat as he looked over his shoulder to glare at the fowls.

Cutter looked over at his friend, yelling to him as he ran. "Do you know any kind of techniques?"

"…buh?" The Blade Knight blinked in confusion.

"Can you attack them at all?" Cutter rephrased.

"Yah!" Dagger exclaimed. He came to an abrupt halt, spun around, and narrowed his large eyes at the approaching flock. He watched them come closer, then, just before they dive-bombed him, leapt into the air. The Tookeys and Chickies slammed into the ground, slightly dazed. Dagger came crashing down, crushing a few of the birds beneath his heavy body.

Kirby smirked, leaning against the handle of his sword. "Now THAT'S throwing your weight around…"

The remaining five Tookeys and Chickies flew back into the air. Two Chickies flew off to attack Cutter while three Tookeys dove towards Kirby.

"WhadoIdo!" Cutter exclaimed, running around in circles in a panic.

"You're a Sir Kibble, use your boomerang!" Kirby replied, smacking a few birds with his sword.

"Oh, right…" The round knight grabbed his boomerang-blade, aimed it at the two Chickies, and threw.

When Kirby had taken care of the remaining Tookeys, he glanced over in Cutter's direction. He stared for a moment, then facepalmed. "Don't tell me…"

Cutter's boomerang flew around the Chickies in a circle, not even coming within a foot of touching them. The blade returned to the knight's helmet, snapping back on with a click as the two birds continued to dive-bomb Cutter. "Aw, _scrapmetal._"

The black creampuff winced, preparing to be hit by the birds' sharp beaks. He closed his eyes and waited.

"Igoh'em!" Dagger exclaimed.

"Wha…" Cutter opened his eyes to find Dagger standing before him, mouth full. The Blade Knight twitched, spitting out a pair of saliva-covered Chickie. "Oh, er, thanks Dag'," the Kibble said, giving his friend an odd look.

"You know, you're reeeealy gonna have to work on aiming your boomerang properly if you want to help me get the food and stars back," Kirby said with a sigh. He then gave a thoughtful look. "I've never really met a scardey-Kibble that can't use a boomerang properly, and I've never seen a handicapped Blade Knight that doesn't use a sword." He gave a laugh. "You two sure are unique."

Cutter and Dagger exchanged slightly embarrassed glances.

"Hey, that's not a bad thing," Kirby assured, smiling. "Now come on, we have to get that Power Star!"

"Yah," Dagger replied with a nod, his tongue flopping around. He walked back towards Kirby, Cutter following as well.

The group continued through Whispy Woods, fighting whatever forest creatures ran out to attack them. Cutter was still having trouble due to his poor aiming skills, so he had to use his boomerang blade as a short-ranged knife.

"BUHHHH!" Dagger yelled as he chased a Birdon that had tried to attack him before. The Birdon was now fleeing, and Dagger was pursuing it.

"Why didn't you ever learn to use your boomerang properly, Cutter?" Kirby asked, batting an angry Grizzo with his sword.

"Iduno, really… I was just never very good at it," Cutter answered, his voice quiet. He swiped his blade at a Waddle Dee. He didn't cut it, because he knew that while Waddle Dees try to attack, they always run away when their enemy fights back. The little 'Dee scampered away, squeaking in fear.

Once the attackers were defeated, Kirby dusted off his paws, smiling. "Well, that takes care of them!" As soon as this was said, a large explosion erupted from behind the pink creampuff, sending him flying forward. "ARGH! What was that!"

Kirby and Cutter instantly whirled around upon hearing a high-pitched laughter. Behind them, a Poppy Brother Sr. was balancing himself on a medium-sized bomb.

"Blast!" Cutter exclaimed, eyes widening. "What're you doing?"

The Poppy Bro, apparently named Blast, smirked as he rolled towards them on the bomb. "I thought I'd give you a hand there, Cutter! Kirby's a dangerous guy, y'know. And…" He gave a sly smirk. "…I figure if I help you get ridda him, King Dedede'll split the reward between you an' me!" His smirk grew into a grin as he produced another bomb in his gloved hands.

"No, Blast! You don't understand! Dedede stole all the food and Power Stars and Kirby's trying to get it back!" Cutter explained frantically.

"You know this guy?" Kirby questioned, giving Cutter an odd look.

"He's a neighbor of mine. He works for Dedede, too…"

"Heeeyyy, wait a second!" Blast stated, straightening himself on his bomb again. "Why're you talking to Kirby all friend-like?" He eyed the Kibble suspiciously, and soon understood. "You… you're a TRAITOR!"

"WAAAAAH! NO!" Cutter exclaimed, his body starting to tremble. He fell down to the ground, getting into a kneeling position (somehow). "Please, please, PLEASE don't tell Dedede! He'll kill me if he finds out what I'm doing!"

Blast shook his head. "Nah, I wouldn't tell Dedede…"

Cutter gave a sigh of relief.

"I won't need to! I'll just blast you to smithereens along with Kirby!" Blast shouted. He pocketed the small bomb he had been holding, and out of nowhere grabbed a giant bomb, bigger than himself. He held it high above his head, giving a high-pitched laughter.

Kirby immediately got into a fighting stance. "I'll take care of this! Cutter, Dagger, get out of here!"

"C'MON DAG-" Cutter stopped in mid-word when he noticed that the Blade Knight was nowhere to be seen. "…where's Dagger!"

"Bluuuhhhh…" Dagger whimpered. Kirby, Cutter, and Blast all looked up to see Dagger hanging by his paws from a tree-branch directly over Blast. He had chased the Birdon up a tree, and had gotten stuck up there. He winced, hearing the tree branch begin to crack. Within a few seconds, the branch snapped and sent Dagger tumbling down right on top of Blast.

"That was convenient…" Cutter stated, blinking for a few moments. "Good job, Dagger!"

"Yay!" Dagger exclaimed, still sitting on top of Blast and the giant bomb.

"You'd better get off of there, though!" Kirby warned. "That bomb's still lit!"

"…buh?" The Blade Knight looked down just as the bomb exploded. He shot up into the air, and as soon as he came back down started running around in a panic as his blue shirt caught fire. "BUHBUHBUHBUHBUH! _HELP!_" he screamed.

Kirby gave a sigh. "I knew this would happen…" The puffball took off his hat, and handed it as well as his sword to Cutter. "Hold these for a second."

"But what about-" The Kibble was cut off as Kirby walked away and out of sight. He looked back at Dagger, frantically trying to think of a way to put the fire out. Kirby returned quickly, though, and he seemed… larger than before.

"Hold still, Dagger!" he gurgled. The knight obeyed, and a blast of water shot out of Kirby's mouth, putting out the fire.

"…thankyuu," Dagger mumbled, and instantly fell to the ground, eyes swirling.

Kirby put his hat back on and picked up his sword. "…I guess we'll have to carry him until he wakes up."

"Great…" Cutter muttered. He walked over to Dagger, attempting to lift him up. "Man… he's _heavy!_ Give me a paw here, Kirby!"

Kirby nodded and walked over to the Blade, also trying to lift him. Dagger still seemed too heavy. "He's too heavy to carry…" The puffball put his paw to his mouth in thought. "I have an idea, though."

"What's that?" Cutter questioned.

Kirby grabbed the Blade Knight's long tongue, and pulled him forward. "We'll drag him around 'til he wakes up."

The Kibble nodded, grabbing Dagger's tongue in his paws and helping Kirby drag him along. He glanced at the flattened, charred Blast as he walked past, wincing. "Do you think he'll be all right?"

Kirby gave a laugh. "Not really. Looks like he'll be knocked out of commission for a while… but that's a good thing, right? He can't tell Dedede about you, and he can't attack us."

"I guess you're right…" Cutter remained silent after that, as did Kirby. They continued dragging Dagger around for quite some time, surprised not to run into any enemies. Cutter spoke up again. "Where IS Whispy, anyway?"

"In the middle of the forest, which we should be reaching s-_OON!_" Kirby's last word erupted into a yell as he began to fall through a hidden hole in the ground. Since Kirby was holding onto Dagger's tongue, he dragged Dagger along with him, as well as Cutter.

The trio tumbled down through the hole, and finally hit solid ground. Upon making contact with the ground, Dagger leapt to his feet, saluting. "Iwake!" He blinked, glancing around. "Wherewe?"

Cutter hopped up, rubbing his back. "Iduno, Dag'…" He looked around. They were, oddly, not underground, but in another forest-like area. The area was a clearing surrounded so thickly by trees that no one could see past them. A large tree stood in the center.

"I do…" Kirby quickly jumped to his feet, taking a fighting position. "This is Whispy's hiding place!"

"Then that means that…" Cutter shivered as he turned to look at the giant tree. "That's Whispy Woods…!"

"_That's right…_" an echoed voice replied. An angry face appeared on the giant tree, glaring down at Kirby, Cutter, and Dagger. "What are you doing here!"

"We need that Power Star that you're holding, Whispy!" Kirby explained.

"Oh, this?" Whispy lifted one of his roots out of the ground. In his root, he held a large, glowing, star-shaped object. He then brought it back underground. "I'm afraid you can't have it, Kirby. I'm under orders of King Dedede to guard this Power Star… If you want it, you'll have to fight me to get it!"

"Buh-oh…" Dagger gulped.

"Not good…!" Cutter whimpered.

"All right then!" Kirby exclaimed, raising his sword. "If a fight's what you want, then a fight's what you'll get!"

"So be it!" Whispy shook himself, and instantly all of his branches grew longer, covering the hole that Kirby and the others had fallen through. "Hope you like apples…" He shook his branches, and giant apples began to drop out, dropping towards Kirby, Cutter, and Dagger.

"Look out; you've got one right over you, Cutter!" Kirby yelled.

The round knight looked up, seeing a giant apple tumbling towards him. He ducked down again, waiting for it to hit him. The apple fell right onto his boomerang blade, slicing in half. "Hehe…"

"Come on, help me attack Whispy!" Kirby charged towards the giant tree, and sliced into his trunk with his sword. Whispy howled in pain, eyes narrowing as he glared at Kirby.

"Run away or you're gone with the wind!" Whispy yelled. He took a deep breath, and blew a forceful wind at Kirby. The puffball sailed backwards into the wall of the forest-area.

"Oof…" Kirby slid to the ground, unconscious.

"Takethis!" Dagger drew his tongue back into his mouth and whipped it back out, catching some apples as they fell from the branches. He spat them at Whispy, and grinned as the apples splattered against the tree's wooden face.

"You…!" Whispy drew in a deep breath and released it with enough force to knock Dagger off his feet. The Blade soared backwards, and hit the wall next to Kirby. Whispy then faced Cutter, who was trembling so much that his armor clattered. "Aww, you scared, Kibble?"

Cutter gulped, leaping out of the way of another giant apple. "N-no…" He grabbed his boomerang with quivering paws.

Whispy laughed, digging two of his roots out of the ground. The roots crept towards Cutter, ready to grab him and throw him against the wall, just like all the others.

The black creampuff squinted his eyes shut, and blindly threw his boomerang through the air. He waited a moment, and opened them again upon hearing a howling scream from Whispy. The two roots fell to the ground, sliced in half, and Cutter's boomerang returned to his helmet. "I… I did it…" he gasped.

Whispy's face twitched in pain. "Please… no more…" he begged.

Kirby and Dagger awoke again, surprised to find Whispy surrendering. "What's going on…?" Kirby questioned.

"I'm sorry for attacking you…" Whispy apologized. "Dedede FORCED me to guard this Power Star. He said that if I didn't guard it, he would set my forest on fire... And I needed that Power Star anyway to keep the trees and plants on PopStar alive since Dedede stole the other ones. I also need it to keep my apples growing." The giant tree lifted up a root out of the ground, holding the large, sparkling star. "And I still will need this until all of the stars are back… I can't give it to you yet… I'm sorry. You understand, don't you?"

"Don't worry, we understand," Kirby said with a nod. "When we get the other three Power Stars, we'll send you a signal to release this one."

"Thank you…" Whispy gave a sigh of relief, pulling his roots back down underground.

"Where to next?" Cutter asked.

"To Castle Lololo. Lololo and Lalala are guarding the second Power Star there," Kirby explained.

"All right. C'mon, Dag'! Let's get out of here!" Cutter called. He waited for Dagger's usual enthusiastic response, but blinked when he didn't hear it. He turned around to find his friend munching on one of the giant apples that had fallen on the ground, and laughed. "Good idea, I could use a bite to eat, too…" Cutter picked up one of the apples and started eating as well.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind a bite to eat, myself…" Kirby stepped back and jumped forward as he began to inhale. All of the apples were sucked into his mouth, and the puffball swallowed, licking his lips. "I s'pose that's enough for a snack, eh?"

Both Cutter and Dagger sweatdropped.

"…eh-heh, well, let's continue on! Whispy, can you give us a lift?"

"Certainly!" Whispy smiled, picking the three up with a root. He brought them back up to the surface, and released them.

"Let's go, to Castle Lololo!"

With that, Kirby, Cutter, and Dagger darted out of the forest and towards their next destination…


	3. Float Islands

Hiya folks. Here's the next chapter. :3 Hope y'all enjoy.

------

Cutter the Sir Kibble, Dagger the Blade Knight, and Kirby the… Kirby continued their trek throughout Dream Land in search of the last three Power Stars. They walked toward their destination… and walked… and walked… and walked…

"Rusty scrapmetal…" Cutter gasped as he trudged along. "How far is it to Castle Lololo?"

Kirby looked up into the sky for a moment, putting his paw to his mouth in thought. "Actually, I don't really know."

"Welost…?" Dagger questioned, tilting his head to one side.

"No, we're not lost," Kirby corrected. "I know where we have to go. Castle Lololo is just beyond the Float Islands."

Cutter stopped. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... Hang on a sec…" he said, waving his paws about. "I was never too good in geography, but if I remember correctly, the Float Islands are a LONG way away."

Kirby nodded slowly. "Yes, but we can't give up just because of the distance. We need to get those Power Stars, Cutter!"

"But there's gotta be an easier way to get there…" Cutter grumbled. "Can't we call a Warp Star?"

Kirby smirked as he eyed the Sir Kibble. "You ever rode a Warp Star before?"

The black creampuff paused for a moment. "Uh… no, not really."

"Didn't think so. If you knew what a Warp Star ride was really like, you wouldn't be asking for one," the pink puffball explained. "Now come on, we've got to keep going."

Dagger nodded, following Kirby. "C'mon, Cuh'er," he beckoned.

The Sir Kibble heaved a sigh and continued walking. "Though… There is one problem," he pointed out.

"What's that?" Kirby questioned, looking over his shoulder.

The group suddenly stopped walking. Just ahead of them was a short cliff. Below the cliff was an extremely large body of water that seemed to stretch out for miles. Cutter pointed to this water.

"That."

"There's no problem there," Kirby remarked, shrugging. "We can still get through."

"Wait… you're not suggesting—" Before Cutter could finish, Kirby whipped out a snorkel, put it on, and dove into the water. Dagger stomped over to the edge of the cliff and dove in as well, creating a large wave. Cutter quickly dashed out of the way before the water hit is armor, and slowly walked over to the edge of the cliff.

"...there is no way on PopStar that I'm gonna swim through _there_," he stated. But then… how would he cross the water?

The Kibble glanced around and soon spotted some Blippers swimming in the water. That gave him an idea…

---

Dagger and Kirby swam around in the water, dodging Blippers and Squishies as they did so. Kirby looked at the fish sorrowfully. "These fish are making me hungry for sushi…" he gurgled.

Dagger glanced at a passing Squishy, wrapped his tongue around it, and drew it into his mouth. His already large eyes widened for a moment, and he spat out the squid, sputtering.

The puffball sweatdropped. "Sushi isn't that good when it's still alive, though…" he said with a nervous laugh.

After a while of swimming, Kirby had to wonder how Dagger was doing. He turned around again to find that the Blade now donned a pained look and a blue face. The puffball's eyes widened in surprise as he gurgled, "Are you _breathing?_"

The knight shook his head, seeming rather tired. His eyes were now half opened and his face was shifting to a purple color.

Kirby, swimming as fast as he could, darted underneath Dagger and struggled to push the Dreamlander up to the surface before he passed out. As soon as the Blade broke through the surface of the water, he gasped, his face turning back to its natural green color.

"Buh…" he wheezed, his long tongue lolling further out of his mouth as he panted heavily.

"Uh, yeah…" Kirby remarked as he emerged out of the water. "You really should make sure you have some way to breath underwater before you prepare to make a long swimming trip like that…"

"Buh?" Dagger questioned, tilting his head to one side.

"…never mind. Let's keep going."

The large Blade Knight nodded as he let himself sink back into the water, and continued swimming. Kirby followed, nudging the knight every once in a while so that he would remember to swim above the water and take a breath.

As the two swam for a while, they began to notice something strange happening to their surroundings. They were seeing less and less Blippers, and more Squishies of extremely varying sizes. Dagger even swam by one that was as big as himself!

"Something odd's going on here," Kirby remarked, looking askance at the varied Squishies.

A small group of very tiny Squishies swam in a circle around Dagger. The Blade laughed, a few bubbles floating out of his mouth as he did so. The miniscule squids darted around the Dreamlander, who began to bat at them playfully.

Kirby, who could see behind the large Dreamlander, began to wave his paws around frantically in a sign of panic.

Dagger didn't notice, however. He batted his paws at the tiny creatures, unaware of the dark presence that lurked behind him. The little Squishies swam away into the darkness, and as the Blade turned to follow them, a giant tentacle shot out of the shadowed area and wrapped itself tightly around him. The creature slowly swam out of the darkness, revealing itself to be quite possibly the biggest Squishy on PopStar.

"IT'S THE GRAND-MOMMY OF ALL SQUISHIES!" Kirby exclaimed.

Dagger and the Squishy stared.

"…no pun intended," the puffball said sheepishly.

"BUH!" the Blade exclaimed as he began to struggle. "HELP!"

"I'm coming, Dagger!" Kirby called. He swam up to the surface of the water, taking a deep gasp of air. He then swam back down and exhaled forcefully, shooting a long stream of bubbles at the Squishy.

The giant sea monster gave a gurgling growl as it was hit by the bubbles, and tightened its grip on Dagger. The Blade Knight whimpered as his face started to turn blue again.

An idea suddenly hit Kirby. "Hey Dagger, say 'hi' to the Squishy!" he commanded.

The Dreamlander was confused, but nodded anyway. He stretched out his tongue and licked the Squishy's face in his strange form of salutation. The squid froze completely, a weirded-out look on its face. Dagger took this chance to swim out of its grasp and up to the surface for air. As he swam back down, the Squishy was beginning to regain its senses and Kirby was preparing to swim away.

"I'll be right back," he whispered to Dagger. "Distract this thing for me, will ya'?"

"'Kay," the knight responded with a nod.

Kirby swam away, while Dagger swam towards the Squishy boldly. He made a swift kick (well, as swiftly as one can kick underwater) at the squid's eye, causing the monster to roar in pain. He then swam back a distance and spun towards the sea monster, tackling into him. The monster gave a gurgling growl and reached out two of its tentacles to grab the Blade Knight. Acting quickly, the Blade darted away.

The Squishy's face turned red in frustration. Gurgling angrily, it stretched out all of its tentacles at once towards the Blade Knight.

"…buh oh," Dagger whimpered. As the monster's many arms began to wrap around him, an idea formed in his tiny brain. He made a face at the squid, and one of the arms began to "chase" him. He led it between two of the other tentacles and continued to swim about until all of the Squishy's limbs were tied in a tight knot.

The sea monster burbled angrily, but its pupils shrank in fear. "Buuuh…?" Dagger questioned, tilting his head to one side. He looked behind him to see Kirby swimming towards him frantically.

"GET OUTTA HERE, DAGGER!" he shouted. Behind him swam a large Joe. Giving a quick nod, the Blade Knight started to swim to the surface, Kirby following. The shark-like monster started to follow until it noticed the helpless Squishy. Smirking, the shark darted towards the monster…

---

It wasn't long before Kirby and Dagger finally reached the Float Islands. As soon as they reached the shore, both of them flopped to the ground, exhausted.

"Whew…" Kirby gasped. "We made it…" The creampuff stood up and shook himself dry, only to be soaked again as Dagger shook the water out of his messy hair. "…thanks."

"Yuuwelc'm," the Blade Knight stated happily, not noting the sarcasm in Kirby's voice. He blinked his large eyes for a moment as a thought somehow entered his mind. "…where Cuh'er?"

"Yeah…" Kirby agreed, looking around. "Where _is_ Cutter? Didn't he follow us?"

Dagger shrugged and cupped his paws around his mouth to amplify his voice. "Cuh'er? CUH'ER!" he called.

"Hey Dagger… look!"

"Buh?"

Something could be seen out in the water. It was moving quickly, causing water to splash everywhere. It was speeding towards shore, spinning around in several loops and darting from side to side. As it got closer, it was identified as a Sir Kibble riding atop a Blipper. The fish neared the shore, bucked the Kibble off of its back, and hit it with its tail, causing the armored puffball to fly forward.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!" the Sir Kibble yelled as it flew through the air and crashed into a tree. Its blade stuck into the bark, causing it to hang there. The Blipper made a face at the Sir Kibble and splashed back underwater.

Kirby and Dagger cautiously approached the Kibble. As they glanced at its red feet, they identified it as Cutter. "CUH'ER!" Dagger exclaimed, yanking the Sir Kibble out of the tree and hugging him.

"N-nice to see you too, Dagger…" Cutter choked, squirming free of his friend's grasp. Swaying slightly, he stumbled around the ground before dizzily uttering, "_Never_ attempt to cross water by riding a Blipper." That being said, he collapsed.

"I'll keep that in mind," Kirby said with a sweatdrop. "Anyway, we have to keep moving. Castle Lololo shouldn't be much farther away."

A sudden roar tore through the air. Cutter instantly leapt up and dove into a bush, whimpering in fear, while Kirby stepped back, eyes darting around the area. "Who's there?" he questioned.

Dagger's face turned bright red. "…Ihungry," he stated, giving an embarrassed look. There was another roar, which clearly came from the Blade Knight's stomach.

Cutter crawled out of the bush. "Scrapmetal Dag'… you have the _biggest_ appetite I've ever seen… next to Kirby's, anyway."

Kirby laughed. "Thanks for the compliment. Lemme find something that'll give me a Fire ability, and I'll cook us some fried Blippers. How's that sound?" he inquired.

"Yum!" Dagger exclaimed happily. He made an attempt at licking his lips, but ended up causing his long tongue to smack him in the face. "…ow."

Both Cutter and Kirby laughed this time. "All right, let's keep going, now," Kirby commanded. The group nodded in unison and continued their trek. Not too far away from the shore was a short cave. There didn't seem to be any way around it, so the trio had no other choice but to walk through it. Kirby and Dagger entered, while their Sir Kibble friend cowered at the entrance.

"Wutwrong?" Dagger questioned as he looked over his shoulder.

"I-I don't exactly like caves… or dark places…" Cutter explained, shivering.

Kirby sighed. "We _have _to go through here, Cutter. There's no other way around."

"Ihelp yuu," Dagger stated, picking up Cutter. He set the Sir Kibble on his head.

"Er… thanks, Dag'," Cutter replied. Having a fear that he would find scary things within the cave, the black puffball closed his visor.

Once this was accomplished, Dagger and Kirby continued walking through the cave. It was, of course, dark, as most caves are, as well as damp. Within the first few steps, Dagger's boots and Kirby's feet were already soaked. There was the sound of water dripping in the deeper parts of the cave, as well as a few other strange noises. One of these noises was a strange _whrr..whrr…whrr…_ noise that kept getting closer every time it was heard. Another noise soon made itself apparent: the clattering of Cutter's armor as he trembled.

"Wh-what's th-that noise?" he stuttered, lifting his visor slightly.

"It sounds like something warping…" Kirby whispered, straining his eyes to see in the darkness. "But what it is, I don't kno-"

"KABOOOOOO!"

The _whrrr_ sound was at its loudest now as a large brown figure suddenly appeared right in front of the trio. It was a Kabu, and though it wasn't a very scary looking creature, its sudden appearance and loud yell was enough to scare the—well, scare someone… which it did.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHITSGONNAKILLMEANDI'MGONNADIE!" Cutter shouted, jumping up. He lost his footing, slipped off of Dagger's head and fell to the ground head-first, the blade on his helmet slicing right through the Kabu.

"Nice," Kirby commented, smirking. "Your cowardice actually did some good for once…"

"Eheh…" the Kibble laughed nervously. He hopped back onto Dagger's head. "So… uh… onward?"

"Right."

After walking for a while, there was a sudden _squeak _as Kirby's soft body hit a wall in front of him. "…dead end," he mumbled. "Can you climb very well, Dagger?"

"Yah," the Blade Knight replied. He nodded, causing Cutter to have to grab onto the Blade's head to keep from falling off. Dagger's tongue flopped over his head as he nodded, smacking Cutter in the face.

"Hey, watch it!" Cutter exclaimed, shoving Dagger's tongue away.

"…Isowwie," Dagger responded, lowering his head slightly. He started to climb up the wall as Kirby puffed up and floated over it. Before long they reached the top and continued their trek, only to stop a few moments later.

"…do you get the feeling that we're defying gravity?" Kirby questioned.

Dagger looked down to find that there was no ground beneath them. He looked up again with his eyes half open in an annoyed expression. "Yah."

The trio tumbled to the ground, yelling the whole way. Kirby fell to the ground with another _squeak_, while Dagger, strangely, didn't make too much noise when he fell. "What'd you land on, Dagger?" Cutter asked, straining to see in the dark.

"Iuno," Dagger responded with a shrug. After a few moments, the Blade Knight suddenly shot up into the air in a delayed reaction of pain. "OOOWWWW!" He crashed back onto the ground next to Kirby.

"Looks like he landed on a Gordo…" Kirby stated, glancing at the urchin-like creature.

"…rusty scrapmetal, that's gotta hurt," Cutter said with a wince.

"No time to sympathize now, Cutter," the puffball said nervously, "'cuz that Gordo doesn't look too happy!"

The Gordo was indeed very unhappy. Its eyes were narrowed as it glared at the trio, and it backed up before charging after them.

"RUN!"

The giant urchin blasted after Kirby and the two helpers, eyes flashing in anger. Up ahead there was a small exit with light pouring in. Kirby easily fit through. Cutter leapt off of Dagger's head and dove through, while the Blade made an attempt at crawling through it. Unfortunately due to the Dreamlander's large size, he got stuck mid-way. "HELP!" Dagger yelled.

Cutter and Kirby each grabbed one of Dagger's paws and started pulling. They succeeded in yanking the Blade Knight out just as the Gordo rammed into the entrance. It was too big to fit through the hole, so it just sat there, glaring angrily. Because of the force of the pull, Dagger ended up flying backwards and crashing into a bush. His two friends quickly rushed over to him.

"You all right, Dag'?" Cutter questioned worriedly.

"I 'kay," Dagger responded, sitting up. Suddenly, something shiny caught his eye. He glanced over at the ground beside him to find a large, scintillating lollypop. The Blade Knight smiled happily and picked up the candy.

"Uh, Dagger, I wouldn't eat that if I were you…" Cutter warned. "You don't know where it's—"

_Gulp!_

"…been."

Dagger froze completely. He stared into blank space for a while as a tremor rose up his body. Suddenly he shot into the air and came back down, but instead of crashing to the ground, he took off running with a speed that would rival a Rex Wheelie's.

"Holy scrap…" Cutter gasped. "What happened!"

"That'd be a sugar high," Kirby remarked with a laugh. "C'mon, let's follow 'im!" With that, the puffball rushed off, the Kibble following. They noted that many enemies in the area had been trampled completely, which made it easy for them to get through. There was a sudden _CRASH _as Dagger blasted through the doors of a small stone house. Cutter and Kirby quickly rushed in and came to a stop on top of a rug to find Dagger lying in the middle of the house, eyes swirling. Kirby smirked. "Thanks, Dagger."

"Wheeeee…" the Blade mumbled.

"This sure is an odd rug," Cutter commented as he looked down at the rug that he was standing on. It had an odd feel to it… almost as though it was something alive.

"That's 'cuz it's not a rug… that's Mr. Frosty, only more pancake-like," Kirby explained. "Dagger must've trampled him."

"…oh." Cutter quickly hopped off of the flattened walrus and glanced around the house. "Now what? How do we get to Castle Lololo from here?"

Kirby put a paw to his mouth in thought. "Hmm…" He scrutinized the room before turning back to look at Cutter and Dagger with a smirk. "You guys feel like riding a Warp Star?"

The two helpers turned around to find several Warp Stars sitting conveniently in the corner of the house. Cutter inspected one of them. "This'll make things easier… how do we ride them, though?"

"Like this." Kirby picked up one of the Warp Stars and set it down again. It hovered a few inches off the ground, rotating slowly. Kirby then hopped onto one of the corners of the star, which expanded slightly to form a seat. He inspected the star for a moment. "Hm… these are headed to go straight to Castle Lololo."

"That helps, too," Cutter said, hopping onto one of the stars. Dagger shook off his dizziness and sat on one of the Warp Stars as well. "How do we get these things to take off?"

"Just hold on and tell me when you're ready," Kirby instructed. He held onto the Warp Star tightly, waiting for the two helpers' responses.

Cutter, slightly confused, held onto the star and gave a nod to Kirby. Dagger held on as well. "Iready!" the Blade exclaimed. As soon as he did so, all three Warp Stars blasted off without warning through the ceiling and across the sky. "WHEEE!" Dagger yelled happily, his tongue flailing about behind him.

Cutter yelled in surprise and fear as he flew through the sky, and soon whimpered quietly. "C-can we go b-back and get my stomach…? I-I think I-I l-left it b-behind…" he stuttered.

"Too late now!" Kirby said. "We're almost at Castle Lololo!"

Dagger had been enjoying his Warp Star ride until he noticed that Castle Lololo was fast approaching. "Wegonna crash!"

"Yup," Kirby replied. "Get ready to jump."

"Oh no…" Cutter whimpered.

The trio leapt off of their Warp Stars just before the vehicles crashed into the ground and burst. They had landed on the outside of the topmost floor of the castle. There were two doors, one of them leading to the room where Lololo and Lalala kept their stolen Power Star. Kirby looked back at his two helpers. "So, guys, what did you think of your first Warp Star ride?"

Dagger grinned. "Itfun!" he exclaimed.

Cutter's response, unfortunately, wasn't quite as enthusiastic. His face had adopted a color similar to Dagger's skin, and his body was shaking slightly. The Sir Kibble stumbled dizzily "off-screen" as a few unpleasant noises were heard. He returned, his face not quite so green, and said in a hoarse voice, "I am _not_ doing that again."

Kirby and Dagger sweatdropped. "…er, yeah," Kirby responded. "You gonna be all right?"

"Yeah… just as soon as everything stops spinning…" With that, the Sir Kibble collapsed a second time.

Kirby sighed. "This hasn't been a good day for you, has it?"

"Nope," came Cutter's response. He slowly rose to his feet, shaking his head. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Good, then let's get this Power Star," the pink creampuff stated. He opened the door to the castle, carefully peering in. "I don't see anything in the—"

_SQUISH!_

A large block flew through the door and over Kirby, completely flattening him.

"…ouch," the puffball whimpered. He puffed himself back up and leapt to his feet. Another box came flying at him, but he quickly leapt over it. "HEY! You two come out here and show yourselves!" There was some muffled talking and scrambling from within the room. Kirby looked back at his two helpers. "Let's go, guys. And be careful not to get crushed by any blocks."

"'Kay," Dagger said with a nod. He, Cutter, and Kirby walked into the room. It was dark at first, but in a few moments the room was lit. It was a narrow room that looked similar to a hallway with a door on each end. Just above them was a clear floor with an identical room; the same held true for the floor below them.

Cutter blinked in confusion as he observed the odd rooms. "Where are they…?" he questioned.

"They're here somewhere…" Kirby stated. He started walking towards the other door, but suddenly stopped. His eyes widened as he shouted, "Get outta' the way!" He flattened himself against the wall. Cutter, being a puffball, did the same thing. Dagger stood in the middle of the room, blinking in confusion.

"Buh…?" He looked over at Cutter and Kirby, and then back at the door just in time to see a large block come flying at him. It smacked against him, pushing him backwards at great speeds. The Blade Knight used his feet as breaks and gradually began to slow down. He was pushed out of the room and finally stopped just before he went over the edge of the castle. The helper winced and lifted up one of his feet; his shoe was smoking from being used as a break. With a whimper, Dagger rushed back into the castle.

"You all right, Dag'?" Cutter questioned. The Blade Knight gave a reluctant nod.

"Everyone, keep an eye out for Lololo or Lalala… and for cryin' out loud, WATCH OUT FOR THOSE BOXES!" Kirby exclaimed.

The sound of two young voices giggling was heard. The trio looked up to see both Lololo and Lalala standing in the room above them. "Hello!" Lololo greeted, waving a paw.

"Are you looking for this?" Lalala questioned. She held up a large, sparkling star –the second Power Star!

"Dedede gave you that, didn't he?" Kirby questioned. He didn't give them time to answer. "Give it to us, please! We need it!"

"I think it's pretty," Lalala stated, holding the star close. "I don't want to give it away."

"Neither do I," Lololo said.

"So go away!" the twins shouted in unison.

"We're not leaving without a fight!" Kirby exclaimed.

"Actually, that's not such a bad idea…" Cutter started to dart out of the room, but Kirby quickly grabbed his foot, causing him to trip. "...scrapmetal."

"Yah, wefite!" Dagger exclaimed, stomping his foot. The twins exchanged glances before darting in opposite directions, each exiting through a different door.

"They could be anywhere… Split up. Cutter, find a way to the top floor. Dagger, find a way to the bottom," Kirby commanded. "I'll stay on this floor."

Dagger nodded and plodded forward, only to fall through a trap door to the lower room. "…ouh."

"Careful!" Cutter called to his friend. After hearing a "buh" of acknowledgement, the Sir Kibble looked up at the floor above him and felt around the ceiling for a trap door. Upon finding it, he leapt through it onto the topmost floor. "I'm ready… I guess."

"You'd better be, 'cuz here they come!" Kirby exclaimed. At that instant the right door on his floor flew open as a large block sped at him. The puffball inhaled the block and spat it back out through the door. There was a crashing sound as well as a few surprised shouts before the door slammed shut.

Kirby and his two helpers stood still, waiting for another one of the twins to show his or herself, or for a block to come flying at them. Dagger was the next person to be attacked, the left door on his floor bursting open and a block flying towards him. The Blade Knight whipped his tongue at the box, wrapped it around it, and swallowed it.

"…whyyy did you do that, Dag'?" Cutter questioned, giving his friend a strange look.

The Blade Knight shrugged. "Ihungry."

"Eat something… Iduno, EDIBLE next ti—" A block slammed into the Sir Kibble before he could finish, smashing him flat against the wall on the other side of the room. "…ouch."

"Pay attention!" Kirby yelled. This time doors in both Kirby and Dagger's room opened, throwing blocks at the two Dreamlanders. Kirby used the same tactic as last time: inhaling the block and spitting it back out, while Dagger rammed into the block with all his weight to send it back in the other direction. Unpleasant shouts were heard in the unseen rooms as the doors slammed shut again.

The rooms were silent for a minute or two after that. The trio waited for a sign of the twins coming to attack them once more, but nothing was heard. All three of them stood in the middle of their rooms, waiting, waiting, waiting…

A slight creak was heard. Cutter looked to his left to find that the door was starting to open. Another creak was heard—the door was opening on the right as well. The Sir Kibble began to sweat nervously, wondering how he could block both blocks at once. He looked down at Kirby and Dagger, giving them a look that said "Help me before I become a living tin can!"

Kirby started to run towards the trap door to Cutter's floor, but Dagger leapt through both the trapdoor to Kirby's floor and through the trapdoor to Cutter's floor. The Sir Kibble smiled upon seeing his friend there to help him, and stared at the door ahead of him with a determined look. "C'mon, Dag', let's show these two!"

"Yah!" Dagger shouted with a nod.

The doors slammed open and two blocks flew towards the two helpers. Both Cutter and Dagger leapt into the air and kicked the blocks away at the same time, sending them back towards their owners.

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!_"

"They're not enjoying this so much," Kirby said with a laugh.

"Thatnot them," Dagger corrected. He glanced over at Cutter, who was writhing on the floor in agony.

"SWEET MERCIFUL SCRAPMETAL! THE _PAIN!_" he yelled. "I THINK I BROKE MY FOOT!"

Kirby sweatdropped. "Er… you don't have any bones, Cutter. How could you break your foot?"

The Kibble stopped, blinking. "That's a good point." He rose to his feet, absolutely fine. Kirby and Dagger facefaulted.

Moans of pain were heard from one of the unseen rooms. Soon Lololo and Lalala stumbled out of the right door on Kirby's side, both covered in many bruises.

"Stop…"

"…please…"

"We…"

"…give…"

The twins collapsed, Lololo holding out the Power Star with one of his paws in Kirby's direction. The pink creampuff snatched it, giving the two a worried look.

"Uh… you guys gonna be all right?" he questioned. He couldn't just leave them there like that unless he knew they were fine.

"We'll…"

"...be…"

"…fine…"

"Just…"

"…don't…"

"…tell…"

'…Dedede…"

Kirby nodded. "Can do." He looked up at the floor above him. "C'mon, guys. Let's get outta' here!" Cutter and Dagger nodded, hopping through the trapdoor and following the pink Dreamlander out of the castle. Kirby smiled, holding the Power Star in his paws. "All right… That makes two Power Stars so far. So that means… we need two more."

"Somethin' els'," Dagger stated.

Cutter gave his friend a confused look. "We need something else? What?"

Dagger sat down, showing the bottoms of his boots, or lack thereof. The soles had worn out from being used as breaks earlier. Kirby and Cutter laughed.

"All right, then! Two more Power Stars, and two more boots!"

"Buh-huh!"


	4. Bubbly Clouds

Kirby, Cutter, and Dagger walked over one of Dreamlands many plains. Dagger seemed rather happy, as he was now sporting a new pair of Blade Knight boots. Cutter, however, seemed a little less than cheerful. He was counting a few coins in his hand—Gold, Dreamland's currency.

"I can't believe those boots cost that much…" Cutter mumbled, putting the Gold in a bag and putting the bag away.

"Aw, cheer up, Cutter," Kirby said. "You still have enough buy some food once this is all over."

"Yeah, I guess…" The Sir Kibble sighed. "Speaking of food…" His stomach gave a growl, and he blushed somewhat.

"Oh, that's right, I said I'd cook up a meal, didn't I?" Kirby questioned. "Well, let's see… Fire ability, Fire ability…" The pink creampuff stood on the tips of his feet as he observed the area. Spying a Burnin' Leo wandering about in the distance, he grinned. "You two stay right here."

"'Kay," Dagger affirmed as he and his friend stopped walking. They watched as Kirby approached the Burnin' Leo from behind, tapped him on the back, and inhaled him, the Leo screaming loudly. There was a flash, and Kirby's skin was a darker pink color and he donned a gold crown with a green jewel. A large fire crackled inside the crown.

Fire Kirby returned to his two helpers, who were staring with eyes wide with shock. "Something wrong?" he questioned, sounding concerned.

"You…" Cutter started, twitching. "You… ate him!"

"Nah, I just borrowed his ability. I'll spit him out once I cook up some fish," Fire Kirby explained. "Now c'mon, help me find a river." With that, he began to walk off.

Cutter and Dagger exchanged uneasy glances before reluctantly following.

---

The trio was now seated in a circle, several fried Blippers in a pile in front of them. Each of them was munching on a fish happily.

"Yummmm…" Dagger hummed, gulping down an entire fish. "…Stillhungry."

"Er… Is it all right if Dagger has another fish or so?" Cutter questioned, glancing over at Fire Kirby.

The pink creampuff shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"Thankyuu!" Dagger reached out his tongue, wrapped it around the whole pile of fish, and drew them into his mouth, swallowing. Kirby and Cutter sweatdropped.

"Well… looks like we won't be having seconds," Cutter muttered.

"Eh, that's all right," Kirby said. He stuffed the rest of his fish into his mouth, swallowed, then spat out the Burnin' Leo he had inhaled before, which frantically rushed off. "Time to head off to Bubbly Clouds." He glanced up at a large, towering cloud over the river.

"How do we get up there?" Cutter questioned, finishing his meal and tossing the fish bone over his shoulder. Dagger caught it with his tongue and quickly swallowed it.

"Warpst'r?" Dagger suggested, licking his paws.

"_No!_" Cutter shouted suddenly, jumping up. He then blushed, noting that his two friends were staring at him, and sat down. "Er… I don't… really like Warp Stars…"

"Well, _I _can always fly you guys up there," Kirby explained. He began to puff up, floating into the air. "Grab my foot!" he said through his teeth.

"Er… a-all right…" Cutter jumped up, grabbing onto one of Kirby's feet. The two began to ascend, leaving Dagger behind. "Hey, hurry up, Dag'!"

"Icommin'!" Dagger called. He rushed after Kirby, leaping into the air and grabbing onto one of the puffball's feet just as Kirby was over the river.

Kirby, not prepared to lift Dagger's immense weight, descended rapidly. He quickly inhaled more air, but not before both Cutter and Dagger crashed into the river, both soaking wet.

"AACK!" Cutter yelled. "Hurry, get us outta' here before my armor rusts!"

Kirby continued to inhale, growing bigger and bigger until he finally lifted his two helpers out of the river. They began to ascend once more into the towering mass of clouds above them.

"Holy scrapmetal…" Cutter breathed in astonishment as they passed through the clouds.

"Buuuuh…" was all Dagger could say, eyes wide in amazement.

Kirby finally kicked the helpers off of his feet, both of them landing softly on a strangely solid cloud. "Well… here comes the part I hate," he muttered. He opened his mouth, letting the air out. This caused him to fly backwards and all around the fluffy clouds. He flew around the colorful pillars that were planted onto some of the clouds, and just barely missed hitting a few creatures nearby. Finally he was back to his normal size, and began to drop. The creampuff landed on top of an orange-furred creature, bounced off its head, and landed on a soft cloud below.

"Wutthat?" Dagger inquired, pointing at the orange creature.

"Oh no…!" Cutter whimpered. "That's a Scarfy!"

"Uh oh…" Kirby said in a child-like way. He looked up at the Scarfy, whose face began to contort in anger. Suddenly its face changed altogether, its two eyes merging and its formerly tiny mouth splitting open into a giant, fanged grin. "RUN!"

The Scarfy roared ferociously, and the trio began to jump from cloud-to-cloud to get away from it. The Scarfy, not having to jump, was beginning to gain on them, however.

Kirby and his two helpers found a pathway made up of blocks among the clouds, and quickly leapt onto them. "Ov'r… there!" Dagger shouted, pointing at a nearby door.

The Scarfy, however, noticed this exit before the Blade Knight did, and rushed in front of it, growling threateningly.

"We'regonnadiewe'regonnadie…" Cutter whimpered, ducking behind Dagger.

"No… just wait…" Kirby said, glaring at the Scarfy.

The monster's eye suddenly widened, and its body began to flash. A tremor rose up its round form, and soon it was shaking violently. A few moments later, it exploded.

Dagger heaved a sigh of relief. "Thatclose…" he mumbled.

"Yeah… sorry, I'll have to be more careful," Kirby stated sheepishly. "Now let's get a move on; we're wasting time." With that, the puffball disappeared through the door, Cutter and Dagger following.

The trio was now in another room with hovering blocks serving as its floor. Cutter's eyes widened when he found that it was full of Dedede's servants. "H-hide me!" he stuttered, darting behind Dagger for a second time.

"You remember what I said, Cutter," Kirby said. "These guys won't have the guts to return to King Dedede after we're done with 'em!" With that, he charged forward, inhaling the nearest enemy and spitting him out into a wall.

"Yay!" Dagger shouted happily, leaping into the air and crushing another enemy beneath his weight.

"A-all r-right…" Cutter glanced around the area, spotting a green and blue robed creature with glowing eyes staring down at him from a pile of higher blocks. The Sir Kibble grabbed his boomerang blade and threw it as best as he could at the creature.

Kirby had just chased off another enemy when he noticed Cutter throwing the blade at the creature. "_Wait!_" he yelled frantically.

"What?" Cutter questioned, looking back at Kirby, then at the creature. Quick as lighting, the creature whipped out a wand, which produced a giant mirror. The blade bounced right off of the mirror, flying back towards its owner with twice the speed as normal. The blunt side of the blade smacked Cutter in the face, leaving a red mark down the center of his face. "…_OW!_" He rubbed his face in pain and replaced his boomerang.

"Be careful when you attack a Simirror like that!" Kirby shouted.

"Iget 'im!" Dagger announced, charging forward and leaping into the air once more, attempting to crush the Simirror.

The Simirror, however, simply pointed his wand upward and produced another mirror, a bored expression on his face. Dagger bounced off of the mirror and flew upward with twice the speed that he had when he was falling. The Blade Knight crashed into a pile of blocks above him, eyes turning into stars in a cartoon-like manner.

"…ouch," Kirby said with a wince.

The Simirror put his wand away and dusted off his paws. He then began to walk away, only to be crushed when Dagger fell back down. The Blade fell onto his stomach, eyes spinning and miniature Birdons flying around his head. "Whee…" he muttered.

"You okay, Dag'?" Cutter questioned, rushing up to his friend.

Dagger hopped back up after a moment, smiling brightly and licking the Sir Kibble. "I 'kay!" he exclaimed.

"Then let's keep going," Kirby stated. With that, the trio continued to the next room. They appeared on a small platform, where the three of them barely had enough room to walk. Kirby looked beneath the platform, then quickly jumped up, eyes wide. "Don't look down…!"

And, like anyone would, both Cutter and Dagger looked down. The platform they were on was hovering in mid-air, and Dreamland could be seen below—several miles below.

Cutter instinctively clung to Dagger for dear life. Dagger simply stared down at the land, blinking curiously. "Longway down," he commented.

"L-l-lets g-g-get out of h-h-here…!" Cutter stuttered, shivering enough to make his armor clatter.

"I know, I know!" Kirby shouted, observing the area around them. They were surrounded by clouds (except below them), there was another door hovering in midair, and two Tookeys perched on a nearby platform. "I think I have an idea…"

The creampuff puffed himself up, flew over to the Tookeys, and grabbed them both by the scruff of their necks. He then flew back over to the platform where Cutter and Dagger were, inhaled Dagger's shoulder-guards, and set the two Tookeys on the Blade Knight's shoulders. The two birds flapped their wings furiously while still perched on the knight's shoulders, carrying him and Cutter (who was still clinging to Dagger's side) though the door. Kirby puffed himself up again and followed, returning Dagger's shoulder guards when they landed.

The next room that they were in appeared to be empty. It was made from blocks, like the other rooms, and it had several large windows through which the evening sky could be viewed. Kirby and his helpers gazed around, wondering why there were no enemies in this particular room.

"Maybe they ran away…?" Cutter wondered aloud.

"Could be," Kirby said with a shrug. "Makes the work easier for us." He looked through one of the windows and spotted another tower of cloud a long distance away. "Hm… I think we'll need a Warp Star for this one. C'mon, let's see if we can find one in this room."

"A-are there any alternatives?" Cutter stuttered nervously.

"'Fraid not…" Kirby said with a sigh.

With that, the three wandered around the room, looking for a Warp Star to transport them. Dagger wandered around the far right corner of the room, which at first looked to be empty. Just as he turned around, though, something caught his eye. Something was hiding behind one of the pillars…

Cautiously he approached the pillar and looked around it, and saw eye-to-eye with… a giant eye. The eye was about the size of a Waddle Doo's, and a few clouds hovered around it. "Buh…?" Dagger questioned in confusion. He reached out to poke the eye, but a jolt of electricity surged through his body before he could do so. His hair sprung out in several directions, making the Blade Knight look utterly ridiculous. His large eyes narrowed at the… eye… thing, and he began to make "shoo"ing motions with his paws. "G'way! Shoo! _Shoo!_" he commanded. One of his paws accidentally struck the eye, causing its pupil to turn into a large "X". The strange eye flew out the window and towards the large towering cloud.

Dagger shook his head in annoyance, and returned to center of the room to see what the others found.

"Well, I didn't find anything…" Kirby reported. "What about you, Cutter?"

"N-nothing…" The Sir Kibble was standing in the corner of the room, facing Kirby, and trying to block something from view, and apparently failing, because the tips of something yellow were poking out from behind him.

"…I can see that Warp Star behind you, Cutter." Kirby rolled his eyes.

"Aww…" Cutter kicked his foot. "Stupid short height…" he muttered, stepping away from the Warp Star.

Kirby and Dagger approached the Warp Star, and as they were preparing to get on, Kirby noticed Dagger's static-y hair. "…Wh-what happened t-to your h-hair… Dagger…?" the puffball questioned, attempting to stifle a giggle while doing so. Eventually he couldn't help himself and burst into laughter.

Cutter glanced over as well to see what was so funny. "N-nice hairstyle, Dag'…" he commented, and began laughing as well.

"Buuuh…" Dagger grumbled, licking his paws and smoothing out his hair. He pouted then, when Cutter and Kirby were still laughing, and glared at them in annoyance.

"S-sorry, Dag'…" Cutter apologized, wiping a tear from his eye and patting his friend on the back. "Didn't mean to hurt your feelings…"

"That 'kay," Dagger said, expression brightening. He licked his friend across the face, smiling.

"All… all right…" Kirby said, taking deep gasps of air. "We _really _need to get that next Power Star… C'mon, get on the Warp Star." He hopped onto one corner, which expanded to allow Kirby to sit on it.

"'Kay," Dagger responded, picking up Cutter and setting him on his head before sitting on the opposite corner.

The Warp Star burst off at full-speed towards the other pillar of clouds. Cutter yelped, glancing down at the ground far, _far_ below him. His eyes began to spin and his face turned a green. "N-not feeling good…" he mumbled, swaying from side to side. Both Kirby and Dagger held their paws up to cover the Sir Kibble's mouth to keep him from vomiting.

"I liked that fish, Cutter, but you can keep it…" Kirby said with a wince.

A minute or so later, the group hopped off the Warp Star before it crashed into the next room. This room was made up of blocks as well, and there were thick yellow blocks that obstructed the passageway to the next room.

"Howget… through?" Dagger questioned, gazing up at the giant wall of yellow blocks.

"Hey, what's that?" Cutter pointed out what looked to be a walking microphone, which was prancing around part of the room, singing some off-key notes.

"A_ha!_" Kirby exclaimed, smirking. "Just what we need… a Walkie!" The puffball quickly rushed up to the creature, inhaling it. There was a flash, and the creampuff was then wearing headphones and carrying a microphone. "Listen to this…" Microphone Kirby held the microphone out, and made the most _horrible _screeching sound into it.

Dagger quickly covered his ears, and Cutter snapped his visor shut before the sound waves could echo throughout his helmet. Both of them shouted in pain as the sound reverberated throughout the room, creating powerful sound waves. The yellow boxes that blocked their way began to crack, and eventually shattered.

Finally the sound wave stopped, and Kirby spat out the Walkie. "So… you two think I could make it to the opera?" he inquired jokingly, grinning.

Both of the helpers collapsed, twitching.

---

"Buuuh…"

"C'mon, Dagger… just a little bit further… just a little bit…" Kirby instructed.

Kirby, Cutter, and Dagger had traveled through the rest of the room, and found a long pit near the end of it. Now they were all looking down the pit, Dagger's long tongue reaching out into the darkness.

"So… tell me again why we're doing this…?" Cutter questioned, leaning against a wall in boredom.

"'Cuz I smell a tomato in there… and not just an ordinary tomato…" Kirby licked his lips. "It's a Maxim Tomato!"

"What's a Maxim Tomato?" Cutter inquired, still not seeming all that impressed.

"It's a really, _really_ rare tomato that's supposed to have special healing powers. It can even heal someone when they're on the brink of death… not to mention it's absolutely _delicious!_" Kirby explained excitedly.

Cutter stared in silence for a moment. "…you have to be making this up."

"I'm not!" Kirby said with a grin. "You'll see..."

"Goh'it!" Dagger yelled, retracting his tongue back up from the pit. He pulled up a large, bright red tomato with a golden "M" planted onto it.

"LEMMEEATIT!" Kirby exclaimed, lunging at the tomato.

"Wait!" Cutter said, hopping up and grabbing Kirby. "If it really _is_ that special, then we should save it for later."

"Yah…" Dagger nodded, grabbing the tomato and stuffing it in his pocket.

"Fine…" Kirby grumbled. "But if we don't need it by the time all this is over, that thing's _mine_." He licked his lips happily. "Now let's go… the sooner we get that Power Star, the faster I get to eat that toma—I mean, the faster we can get this over… eheh…" With that, he and his helpers headed through the next door.

They found themselves in a room that was half cloud and half block. The only way through the room was up, and seated atop a few clouds above the group were a few menacing looking Sir Kibbles in maroon armor. The armored creampuffs glowered down at the group, holding their boomerang-blades up threateningly.

"_Yike!_" Cutter squeaked quietly. "Th-those are some of Dedede's best Sir Kibbles… they have really good aim, and they can slice us into pieces in seconds…"

"All right," Kirby whispered, staring up at the Sir Kibbles intently. "When I say go, I want you guys to hop up those clouds as fast as you can and get to the top of the room." He turned to look at his helpers. "Ready?"

"Yah," Dagger said, nodding his head.

"No!" Cutter whimpered.

"Good, then GO!" Kirby drew back his foot, somehow punting both Cutter and Dagger up to the nearest cloud. Instantly, the Sir Kibbles began to fire their boomerangs at them, and the two helpers had to be constantly jumping to avoid being sliced in half.

Kirby puffed himself up and hovered in front of the Kibbles, making faces at them. The puffballs then launched their weapons simultaneously at the pink creampuff. Kirby waited until the last minute before he inhaled them and became Cutter Kirby.

The Sir Kibbles, now weaponless, started to back away in fear as Kirby grabbed his own boomerang-blade. The pink warrior flipped into the air, and released a large blue beam at the Sir Kibbles on his right side, then did the same to attack the Sir Kibbles on his left side.

Cutter and Dagger, who were now at the top of the room, gazed down and watched in amazement as Kirby fought the Kibbles. "Final Cutter…" Cutter gasped, eyes widening.

Once the Kibbles were taken care of, Cutter Kirby hovered up to the top part of the floor where his helpers waited by the final door. "You guys ready?" he asked. Once given the affirmative nods, Kirby smiled. "Good… now let's finish this up."

With that, the trio entered the final door in the giant Bubbly Clouds palace. They found themselves at the top part of the castle, where various rainbow pillars were set up. An eye hovered in the middle of the room, surrounded by a few small clouds.

"HEY!" Dagger exclaimed, pointing at the eye. "Ityuu!"

"You saw him before?" Cutter Kirby questioned, looking back at Dagger. "Why didn't you tell us? That's Kracko! He's the one keeping the third Power Star!"

Suddenly, a lightning bolt crashed within the room. The group jumped back in surprise as the clouds around Kracko began to increase in size, eventually forming into one giant cloud. Several yellow spikes jutted out of the cloud's sides, and the single eye glared down at Kirby and his helpers.

"I-I think we're in trouble…!" Cutter whimpered.

"We will be if we just keep standing here!" Cutter Kirby shouted, grabbing his boomerang-blade and throwing it at Kracko. The giant cloud hovered over it and floated back down, giving a growling laugh. "Don't start laughing yet…" the pink creampuff said with a smirk.

Kracko's eye suddenly widened when the boomerang-blade flew back through his side, but he soon resumed his laughter.

"Wha--?" Kirby shouted, eyes widening. "Why didn't it work…!"

"…w-we c-can't beat it…!" Cutter stuttered, sweat leaking from his armor. "Sweet merciful rusty _scrapmetal_ WE'REGONNADIE!" The Sir Kibble began to run around in a panic.

Dagger grabbed his friend by the boomerang-blade, causing the black creampuff to start running in place. "Calmdown… Cuh'er!" Dagger said to his friend, and turned back to glare at Kracko. "Yuu meen!"

Kracko gave another roaring laugh, but soon turned serious again and charged forward, swooping low to the ground.

"Jump!" Cutter Kirby commanded, quickly leaping into the air to avoid the attack.

Cutter and Dagger nodded, both of them jumping as high as they could to dodge the assault. Unfortunately for the Blade Knight, he landed his foot on one of Kracko's spikes. He crashed to the floor, hopping on one foot while holding the other in pain. "Owowowowow!" he shouted.

"H-hey, don't h-hurt Dag'! He didn't do anything to you!" Cutter yelled. He suddenly paused, blinking. "Well… n-not yet, anyway." With a shrug, the Sir Kibble grabbed his boomerang and threw it with all his might at Kracko, only to miss-aim and cause the blade to go crashing through a window. "…whoops."

"Come on, you can do better than that!" Cutter Kirby shouted, grabbing his own boomerang-blade and throwing it at Kracko. Like the first time, though, it passed right through the cloud, leaving the creature unharmed. "Why isn't this working?"

Cutter rushed about again in another panic, eventually cowering in the corner of the room. Kracko noted this, and with what would be a smirk if the cloud had had a mouth, hovered over to the Sir Kibble. "We can't beat him we're gonna die we're gonna DIE we're gonna die…"

"Cutter, look out!" Kirby exclaimed.

"We're gonnadiewe'regonna—" Cutter looked up when he felt Kracko's shadow passing over him and as his boomerang-blade came crashing through the opposite window to snap back onto his helmet. His pupils shrunk in fear as he gazed up at the giant cloud in fear. "…die," he whimpered, finishing his phrase.

_KER-ZAP!_

The boomerang-blade attached to his helmet acted like a lightning-rod, attracting the lightning bolt that Kracko unleashed. Cutter could feel the lightning surging through his body as the giant cloud zapped him. Finally when the lightning stopped, the Sir Kibble crashed to the ground with a loud clattering of his armor, twitching. His armor had turned black while his feet were now grey, and both of his eyes swirled, miniature versions of Kracko hovering comically over his head.

"Buuuh…?" Dagger looked in confusion at his charred friend, then glared up at Kracko. "_Hey!_" he yelled. "Yuu _JURK!_" Without warning, the Blade Knight leapt into the air towards Kracko, and, when he got close enough, swiftly kicked the giant cloud in the eye.

Kracko flew backwards, the pupil of his eye turning into an "X", roaring in pain. Dagger landed on the ground, crossing his arms and giving a nod of approval. "Hiseye!" he said, looking over his shoulder at Kirby.

"Of course!" Cutter Kirby exclaimed, grabbing his boomerang-blade and throwing it at Kracko again, this time aiming for his eye.

Kracko was hit again, and his eye turned red in both pain and rage. The giant cloud swooped back down again at high speeds, attempting to ram directly into Kirby.

Cutter Kirby smirked, opening his mouth and spitting out the Sir Kibbles' blades that he had inhaled before, one at a time. Kracko was hit, each time backing up further, and each time roaring in pain. By the time Kirby had spat out all of the blades, Kracko had flown out of one of the room's windows.

Kirby and Dagger heaved sighs of relief. "Itover…" Dagger gasped, panting heavily.

"Yeah… but where's the Power Star?" Kirby wondered.

A low rumble was heard within the room, and it slowly began to grow in volume. Soon the floor was shaking, and Kirby and Dagger were looking about the room wildly, wondering what was going on. Suddenly, the largest bolt of lightning one could possibly imagine tore through the room, smashing through the ceiling and floor, tearing the room in half.

The whole palace, being made mostly of cloud, began to separate. Dagger and an unconscious Cutter were on one side, while Kirby was on the other. Kracko, now angrier than ever, hovered between the two halves of the room, his now bright-red eye narrowed in absolute hatred. Lightning sparked everywhere, and rain began to pour down from the sky and onto the open platforms that Kirby and his helpers stood on.

Kracko was _mad_.

"Okay, _now _we're in trouble!" Kirby said with a nervous laugh.

"Buh-oh…!" Dagger whimpered, already huge eyes widening.

Kracko gave a thunderous roar, shaking the whole palace. Lightning jolted out of his body in every direction, Dagger and Kirby having to be constantly moving to avoid getting electrocuted. Every time the lightning made contact with the floor, however, the rain conducted the electricity, causing Kirby and Dagger to get zapped.

"Do something, Dagger!" Kirby shouted, holding his paws over his head and leaping out of the way of another lightning bolt.

"Ido sumthin'…" Dagger growled, narrowing his eyes at Kracko. The Blade Knight backed up, hopping part of the way to avoid a bolt, and, timing it just right, charged forward and leapt into the air, flying towards the giant cloud. Once he was close enough, he delivered several kicks and punches to Kracko's eye.

That was enough. Kracko couldn't take it any more, and finally retreated into the air, several large teardrops falling after him.

The Blade Knight stood apparently in midair, watching Kracko retreat, nodding and smiling in approval.

"Dagger, _look!_" Kirby exclaimed, pointing below the helper.

"Buh?" Dagger looked down in confusion, and noticed that he was standing beneath a golden star—the third Power Star! "Pow'r star!"

"All right!" Kirby cheered. "Go over to the other side and grab Cutter, and let's get outta' here!"

Dagger nodded, leaning forward. The Power Star slowly hovered to the left, allowing Dagger to hop onto the other platform. The Blade Knight nodded a "Thankyuu!" to the Power Star, which floated off into the distance. He then rushed over to his friend, who was still unconscious.

"Cuh'er?" Dagger questioned, shaking the Sir Kibble. "Cuh'er! Wakeup!" When the charred creampuff still wouldn't answer, Dagger cast a worried glance over at Kirby. "Henot… wakeup!" the Blade Knight called over to the pink puffball.

Kirby puffed himself up, hovering over to the other platform and examining Cutter. "Well, he got zapped pretty bad. It hurts enough _without _being completely encased in metal. Geez…" he said, shaking his head.

"Heneed help…" Dagger reached into his pocket, taking out the Maxim Tomato.

"_No!_" Kirby shouted, grabbing Dagger's arm. "I wanna have it!"

"Igive 'im half…" Dagger said with a sigh, tearing the tomato in half. He pocketed one half, then shoved the other half down Cutter's throat.

Instantly the Sir Kibble jumped up. "Who what when where how?" he shouted, falling over backwards a few seconds later. "Holy scrapmetal,my _everything _hurts! What happened?"

"You got zapped," Kirby explained. "By a pretty strong bolt of lightning, I might add."

"Butyuu 'kay… nauh!" Dagger exclaimed, licking his friend across the face.

"Sorta'…" Cutter sat up, rubbing his head. "Kirby, I'll tell you this now… This is the _last _time I go anywhere with you. I am _never _doing this again."

"Aw, too bad," Kirby said, his mouth taking on an upside-down "v" shape. "Maybe you'll change your mind later…"

"Pow'r stars?" Dagger inquired.

"Oh, right… only one more left!" Kirby shouted excitedly. "King Dedede has that one…"

"Oh sweet merciful _scrapmetal!_" Cutter exclaimed, falling over backwards again. "Don't tell me we have to fight my _boss!_"

"Fine, then I won't," the pink creampuff responded, rolling his eyes in a joking manner. "We have to get to Castle Dedede… which is waaaay out there." He pointed to a large castle on a hill in the distance. "Any idea how to get there?"

"Warp Star?" Dagger glanced over at a fried Warp Star sitting in the corner of the destroyed room.

"Huh." Kirby wandered over to the star, tapping it to set it hovering into the air. "Convenient, these," he murmured. The creampuff leapt onto one side of the star. "Well, what're you waiting for? Hop on!"

"Buh'kay," Dagger said with a nod, grabbing Cutter and hopping onto the side of the star opposite of Kirby. The Warp Star slowly rose into the air, hovering across the sky.

"Too bad this thing's fried. Otherwise we'd get there a lot faster…" Kirby said, patting the Warp Star's side.

"W-well… a-at least it doesn't go r-really fast…" Cutter stuttered. "I-I'm kinda g-glad it's fried…"

As if on cue, the Warp Star suddenly froze, dropping from the sky. A few moments later, however, it picked back up and continued on its course.

"…you were saying?" Kirby questioned, eyeing Cutter.

The Sir Kibble fainted.


	5. Castle Dedede

Hiya folks! Welcome to the final chapter of Spring Tornado! Wow, that went by fast… I hope you enjoy!

Note: My friend Rat Kirby did some of the lines for the Walkie. She's more awesomegreat that me at funny lines like that. XD;

------

Still flying slowly across the sky was the charred Warp Star, carrying our heroic trio towards Castle Dedede. The three had fallen asleep as the Warp Star trudged on throughout the night, and were beginning to wake up as the sun rose.

"Buuuhh…" Dagger yawned, stretching. He looked over his shoulder at Castle Dedede, noting that they were about half-way there. "Stillnot there…" he mumbled, reaching over to the other side of the star and nudging Kirby with his paw.

"Huh… Wha?" Kirby muttered, blinking awake and wiping the drool off of his mouth. "Shouldn't we be there by now…?" He rubbed his eyes, glancing around as his vision began to clear. "_What _the--? We're only half-way there! It'll take us all day to get to the castle at this rate!"

Kirby's shouting caused Cutter to wake up. The Sir Kibble, still sitting atop Dagger's head, raised his visor to reveal his annoyed expression. "What's going on? Can't I sleep for five more minutes?" he grumbled, observing his surroundings for a moment. He snapped his visor shut again, only to open it once more and do a double-take, eyes nearly bugging out of his head when he saw just how high they were. "_Holy scrapmetal!_" He held tight onto Dagger. "We're still flying!"

"Yah," Dagger said with a nod, shaking his Sir Kibble friend around.

"DON'TLETMEFALLIDON'TWANNADIE!" Cutter yelled, wrapping his paws around Dagger's head.

"Stupid Warp Star…" Kirby grumbled, hopping up and glaring down at the charred Warp Star. "Can't you go any faster?"

At that, the Warp Star took a nosedive, spiraling down through the sky.

"SORRY! SORRY!" Kirby yelled, hanging on for dear life. The Warp Star stopped, and hovered back up to its original position. Kirby blinked in confusion, then put his paw to his mouth in thought. "Can you _please _go a bit faster?"

Instantly the Warp Star blasted off at the speed that a Warp Star would normally fly at. Kirby and Dagger gave whoops of joy at this, enjoying the change in pace, though Cutter, as one might expect, didn't.

"Rusty scrapmetal!" Cutter yelled, snapping his visor shut. "T-too fast, _too fast!_ I feel like I'm on a roller coaster!"

Suddenly the Warp Star stopped, Kirby and Dagger looking up at Cutter in confusion. "What's a roller coaster?" Kirby inquired.

"…No idea," came Cutter's response. The Warp Star resumed its normal speed.

Kirby whipped out a pair of binoculars looking over at Castle Dedede. "Almost there… aim for the door to the top floor!"

Dagger looked over at the castle as well, but stared in confusion. "Wut door?"

"Huh?" Kirby frantically looked around the castle, which was about thirty seconds away. "Wait… there _is _no door to the top floor!"

"_What?_" Cutter exclaimed, looking up and opening his visor again. "…_We're gonna crash!_"

"Brace yourselves!" Kirby commanded, quickly getting into a defensive position. Cutter and Dagger did the same, just as the Warp Star smashed through a thick wall.

The Warp Star, somehow still intact, zipped through the hallway. It slowly began to descend low to the floor, smashing through an unsuspecting Rocky. The Rocky was smashed into a pile of gravel, its eyes and its bandana sitting atop the pile. It cried hysterically, rushing away and trailing pebbles behind him.

The Warp Star continued through the hallway, eventually crashing to the ground and shattering. Kirby, Cutter, and Dagger all skidded forward, finally stopping a few feet away from a giant door. Kirby hopped up, dusting himself off. "Well, that wasn't too bad, was it?"

Cutter and Dagger groaned—both of them had red marks down their faces from skidding face-first.

"Good!" Kirby said cheerfully, skipping forward. "C'mon, let's kick Dedede's tail so we can get the last Power Star!"

The two helpers nodded, standing up and hesitantly following Kirby. Before they could walk close to the creampuff, however, both of them were suddenly grabbed by someone and pulled through a hidden door.

"DON'THURTME!" Cutter screamed, curling up into a defensive ball.

"Hey, I'm on your side, don't worry!" the abductor said, holding his paws up in defense. He was a Poppy Brother Junior, wearing yellow clothing. "Nice job luring Kirby here! You two did great!"

"Buh…?" Dagger questioned, tilting his head to one side in confusion. He looked down at Cutter, who seemed equally confused.

"C'mon, don't play dumb! Follow me! You guys wanna get some good seats, don't you?" the Poppy questioned with a grin. He then proceeded to drag Cutter and Dagger down the hidden hallway, which was beginning to get darker and darker. Eventually the hallway opened up into a huge arena-like room, packed full of baddies. They were all seated in the various rows of seats that circled a giant wrestling arena. Everything was dark, though, so all one could really see was if a seat was taken or not.

Cutter and Dagger wandered around the various rows of chairs in confusion, eventually taking a seat near the middle. The Poppy sat next to them, smiling. "Hey, you hungry?" He took out a giant watermelon, which Dagger happily whipped into his mouth and swallowed whole.

"Wait… Where'd you get that?" Cutter questioned, amazed. "I thought Dedede took all the food?"

The Poppy nodded. "He did, and it's all here! And if you work for 'im, then you get a special discount…" The clown took out a shiny red apple. "This apple costs two hundred Gold, but with the discount, it was only a hundred-ninety-nine Gold!"

Cutter sweat-dropped. "That's a real bargain, there," he muttered sarcastically, then turned around to face Dagger, whispering to him. "This makes sense, though... Dedede didn't only get more food for himself, but now he's making a ton of money from being the only place in town that actually has food!"

"Buh… Hebad…" Dagger whispered back.

Cutter nodded. "Yeah… We've gotta help Kirby beat him!" the Sir Kibble whispered. "…Somehow."

The murmuring throughout the whole arena started to quiet as the sound of an elevator was heard. One could just barely make out a small figure that was wandering around in confusion in the dark arena.

"Hey… What's going on? Cutter? Dagger? Where are you?" The lights came on, revealing Kirby standing in the middle of the stage, and a red-robed form in the corner of the arena with his back turned.

"Welcome, ladies and gentle-baddies, to the battle of the century!" a Walkie shouted, hopping into the middle of the stage. He kicked Kirby to top left corner of the arena before continuing on. "In this corner, we have the little pink creampuff that we all love to hate, _Kirby!_"

Various boos resounded throughout the stadium, and several Dreamlanders threw rotten foods at Kirby.

"Wha--? _Hey! _Stop!" Kirby shouted, holding his paws over his head. He licked some food off of his face, only to recoil and shiver. "Eeeww…"

"Aaaaand in this corner," the Walkie continued, turning to the person standing in the lower right corner of the arena, "we have the fearless ruler of Dreamland, King Dedede!"

Cheers exploded throughout the stadium as King Dedede turned around, his beak curved into large, malicious grin. He held a giant wooden mallet in his yellow-gloved paws, ready to strike.

"This is the battle you've all been waiting for!" the Walkie exclaimed, hopping into the air. "Hero verses Zero! This is the main event!"

"This is the _only _event," a Gim muttered, rolling his eye.

"You paid for an entire seat, but you'll only need the edge! Sunday, Sunday, Sun—er, I mean, _today! _This is the battle of the century!"

"Yeah, and this battle'll _take _a century if you don't shut up!" the yellow-clothed Poppy Brother Junior shouted in annoyance. The Walkie, however, ignored the remark, and continued his long rant. The crowd ceased its cheers, and remained silent as the microphone continued yelling out cheesy lines.

King Dedede gave an irritated sigh, wandering up to the Walkie. "Excuse me…" he said, tapping the Walkie on the shoulder. "I would greatly appreciate it if you would _shut up!_" The penguin swung his mallet swiftly, causing the Walkie to fly out of the arena, across the stadium, and into a wall. The crowd erupted into cheers, and the king nodded in approval.

"L-let the battle begin…" the Walkie groaned, sliding down the wall and crashing to the floor.

_Ding-ding!_

As soon as the bell sounded, King Dedede charged forward, swinging his mallet at Kirby skillfully. Kirby was hit, and flew into the ropes, which launched him to the ropes on the other side of the arena, which continued to launch him around until he crashed right into Dedede, knocking him over.

"Woo… Kirby, one, Dedede, zero…" Kirby mumbled as he stumbled around dizzily.

Sounds of booing resounded throughout the stadium, and Kirby was again pelted by rotten food. This gave Dedede the chance to hop back up and swing his mallet at the pink creampuff once more.

Kirby, however, saw the mallet coming and quickly inhaled it—along with several rotten foodstuffs. His eyes widened, and his face turned an ugly shade of green. Several people in the audience laughed, but stopped when Kirby spat the saliva-covered foodstuffs and mallet back out, right into Dedede's face. Various "ooo"s of pity were heard.

"That had to hurt…" Cutter muttered, wincing.

The mallet fell from Dedede's face, revealing a very annoyed expression. The penguin retrieved his mallet and stuffed it into his coat, rushing backwards against the ropes and flinging himself forward, flying right into Kirby and crushing him with his immense bodyweight. He stepped off of the creampuff, which was now flattened. Cheering and laughter exploded throughout the stadium.

Kirby puffed himself back up, forcing himself to inhale the rotten food and spitting it out at Dedede; it was his only form of attack at this point. He was starting to gain the advantage, but he was pelted by more rotten foods again, giving Dedede yet another chance to attack.

"Hegettin' hurt!" Dagger whispered to Cutter.

"I know… We gotta do something…" Cutter whispered back. He thought for a moment, then quickly got an idea. "I know!" He reached into Dagger's pocket, pulling out what was left of the Maxim Tomato.

"Giveit… toKirby?" Dagger questioned, tilting his head to one side.

"Yep... Think you can toss it over to him?" Cutter inquired.

"Yah." Dagger took the tomato, throwing it with all his might towards Kirby, adding a "Boooo!" as he did so.

Kirby, smelling the Maxim Tomato, perked up. He opened his mouth, gulping down the tomato before it smashed onto the ground. Instantly he felt his strength recover and quickly hopped back up, ready to fight.

Dedede seemed startled at this. He knew that for the only way for Kirby to recover his energy like that was if he had eaten a Maxim Tomato. He glared out into the crowd, holding out his mallet. "Who threw that Maxim Tomato at Kirby?" he yelled angrily. Cutter and Dagger slouched in their seats, hoping that the king wouldn't notice them.

Kirby, seizing the opportunity, inhaled Dedede's mallet. In a flash, he donned a white headband, as well as a large mallet.

"Wuh--?" Dedede shouted, stunned. "Where'd my mallet go…?" He looked frantically around the arena, and spotted Hammer Kirby, who made a face.

"Looking for this?" Kirby questioned, waving the mallet about. Dedede dived at the creampuff, only to be knocked away as Kirby swung the mallet at him.

Boos echoed throughout the stadium once more, and several rotten foods came flying towards Hammer Kirby. The creampuff spun his mallet around, however, deflecting them. He then charged at Dedede again before the penguin could get up, smacking him again with the mallet.

"Yeah!" Cutter exclaimed, hopping up in his seat. He fell silent, however, as did the Dreamlanders around him. "Er… I-I mean… BOOO!" The Dreamlanders also resumed their booing as though nothing had happened.

Hammer Kirby leapt backwards across the arena, holding up the mallet and aiming it carefully. As he did so, Dedede got up and started to rush back towards Kirby. Just before the penguin got to him, though, Kirby threw the mallet full-force at Dedede, releasing his ability.

Screeching in pain, King Dedede flew through the air and crashed through the ceiling of his own castle. Kirby gave an evil grin, turning to the rest of the Dreamlanders in the stadium. The baddies stared for a while in silence before going into a panic and rushing out of the castle.

Kirby reverted back to his usual happy expression, smiling up at the only two Dreamlanders left in the stadium: Cutter and Dagger.

"Thanks, guys!" Kirby exclaimed, rushing up to his two helpers. "I couldn't have beaten Dedede if you hadn't tossed me the Maxim Tomato. That was delicious, by the way…" The creampuff licked his lips.

"Yuu welc'm!" Dagger responded, licking Kirby across the face.

"No problem!" Cutter answered, smiling. "Where's the Power Star, though…?"

"Hm…" Kirby hummed, observing the room. "Dedede probably doesn't want anyone to find it. He probably hid it somewhere deep inside the castle, or maybe he put it some place so obvious that no one would guess where it was…"

As he said that, a large, shining star fell from the hole in the ceiling and onto his head.

"…like his coat pocket." Everyone laughed at this. Kirby took the star off of his head and tossed it back into the air, setting it free. The star flew away into the sky, meaning that their quest had finally come to an end.

"It over…?" Dagger inquired, tilting his head to one side.

"Not quite," Kirby returned, glancing to the back of the stadium where a huge concession stand stood. The creampuff noted that whoever had been running it had been selling mostly rotten food. "This can't be all the food…" The puffball put a paw to his mouth, trying to think of where the food could be.

"I've been to this castle before," Cutter stated with a nod. "The only place that could possibly contain all of Dreamland's food would be the dungeon, which would be at the bottom of the castle."

Kirby nodded, observing the stadium again. He looked up at the giant hole in the ceiling, then down at the arena. "Hey… I have an idea…"

"What's that?" Cutter questioned.

Kirby beckoned for his two helpers to come closer, and he whispered the plan to them.

"Tha krayzee!" Dagger exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Yeah, but probably crazy enough to work…" Cutter remarked. "You really think you can do that, Kirby?"

The puffball nodded. "I know I can! It might take a while… but just trust me, I know this'll work!"

---

Kirby, Cutter, and Dagger stood atop Castle Dedede. The ropes from the arena were tied to the corners of the castle, with the other ends tied to Kirby's feet. Cutter sat atop Dagger's head, and Dagger was sitting right next to Kirby.

"You guys ready?" Kirby questioned. "I don't want you to fall or anything…"

"We notfall," Dagger mumbled in reassurance.

"I-I hope not, anyway," Cutter muttered.

"All right… here I go!"

Kirby began to puff up, drawing in as much air as he could. His body expanded, and he hovered higher and higher. Eventually, however, he stopped.

"What's wrong, Kirby?" Cutter called up to his friend.

"I-I can't inhale any more!" Kirby grunted.

"Buh-oh…" Dagger whimpered. He glanced around, wondering what he could do to help Kirby, and noticed something out of the corner in his eye. "Hey, whathat?" he questioned, pointing to four objects that flew about in the sky.

Kirby glanced over in the direction that Dagger was pointing, and saw the objects as well. As they got closer, he was able to identify them as the four Power Stars. "Hey… wh-what're they coming back for?" he wondered aloud.

The four Power Stars circled Kirby, and began to hover around him. The creampuff them found that he could inhale more air, and quickly did so. He started to expand again, eventually growing larger and larger, until he was nearly twice the size of the castle. Finally the castle was ripped right off the top of Mount Dedede, its very bottom floor left on top of the mountain. Kirby then floated forward as fast as he could as the huge food supply began to pour out across Dreamland.

The citizens of Dreamland soon noticed the flying castle, as well as the food falling out of it. They rushed out of their houses, grabbing as much food as they possibly could. Dreamlanders everywhere were enjoying the rain of food as Kirby flew throughout the whole land.

Cutter and Dagger stood atop the castle, gazing down at the hungry Dreamlanders below. "Well… we did it, Dag'!" Cutter exclaimed, patting his friend on the head. "We helped save Dreamland!"

"Yah!" Dagger responded happily, smiling slightly. He frowned, though, looking down.

"What's wrong?" Cutter inquired, casting a worried glance down at his friend.

"Sad itover…" the Blade Knight answered, sighing.

"Sad that it's over?" The Sir Kibble tilted his head to one side. "How can you be sad that it's over? We nearly got killed _several _times, we got hurt, we got the scrapmetal scared out of us… why would you be sad that it's over?"

"'Cuz itfun!" Dagger responded, grinning. "Letsgo… on 'nother?" He looked up at his friend hopefully.

"Hate to tell ya', Dag', but adventures like this only happen once in a lifetime." Cutter leaned back, slouching on the Blade Knight's head. "And let me tell you, I'm glad for that…"

"Nomore 'ventures?" Dagger asked, frowning.

"Nah… no more adventures. Just be glad we got to go on one like this!"

"'Kay." Dagger smiled, gazing back down at Dreamland.

"Nope… no more adventures…" Cutter smiled as well. "Finally, I can relax…"

Little did they know, their adventures had only just begun…


End file.
